New Delhi : The first four projects that will receive funding from the $40 million Israel-India Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) have been announced even as the governing board of the Fund has made the second call for collaborative proposals for the next set of projects in areas like water and irrigation (agriculture) besides energy, healthcare and information and communication technologies (ICT).

Among those who will receive funding in the first round are Agrosolar Irrigation Systems Ltd of Israel and India's Vyoda Private Ltd. The two will jointly create solar energy-based water pump systems for irrigation that are cost-effective, efficient and suitable for any type of well, to increase electricity production and lower maintenance costs.

Also, Israel-based Bacsoft, a maker of Internet of Thing (IoT) devices, and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (India), an energy service company of the Indian Government, will work together on increasing the water and energy efficiency in villages in India through the creation and application of water and electricity management systems and IoT monitoring devices.

“These grants constitute an important milestone in the continuation of the historic partnership between Israel and India,” Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Eli Cohen was quoted as saying in a statement that announced the winning ventures.

The I4F was launched earlier this year following the July 2017 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel. The Fund will grant $40 million over a period of five years to joint Israeli-Indian projects.

“The highlight of this fund is creating a breakthrough tool that can assist Israeli entrepreneurs and industrialists” to penetrate the Indian market, Ami Appelbaum, the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry and chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority said in the statement.

“Emerging markets are priorities for us and penetrating these markets could open up extensive business opportunities for Israeli entrepreneurs.”

The statement quoted Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of the Department of Science & Technology and the India Co-Chair of the I4F governing board as saying that the Fund will enable the governments of India and Israel to catalyze joint research and development projects into commercial products.

This will take the industrial R&D and technological innovation partnership between India and Israel to “a new level” and serve as a role model for others.

The second call for joint venture proposals, scheduled to be launched in August, has a November 2018 deadline.

Water is one of the world’s gravest risks, according to the Global Risks Report published earlier this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. And the situation is actually worse than it might seem at first glance.